Highway 5 (AR 5, Ark. 5, and Hwy. 5) is a designation for three

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

s in Arkansas. The southern segment of runs from Highway 7 in

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

north to US Highway 70 (US 70) in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. A northern segment of begins at US Highway 67/ US Highway 167 (Future

Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 essen ...

) in Cabot and runs north to

Missouri Route 5 Missouri Route 5 is the longest state highway in Missouri and the only Missouri state highway to traverse the entire state. It is part of a three state, 650 mile highway 5. To the north, it continues into Iowa as Iowa Highway 5 and to the south ...

, including a lengthy overlap with Highway 25 between

Heber Springs Heber Springs is a city in and the county seat of Cleburne County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 7,165 at the 2010 census. Geography Heber Springs is located near the center of Cleburne County at (35.494329, −92.039168). Arkansa ...

and Wolf Bayou. A portion of Highway 5 is designated as part of the

Sylamore Scenic Byway The Sylamore Scenic Byway is a scenic route in the Arkansas Scenic Byways program. The route runs through the Sylamore Ranger District of the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas for in Stone County, Arkansas, Stone County. It passes through undevel ...

. The Main Street Bridge in Little Rock carries a hidden Highway 5 designation. The bridge is in span.

Route description

Hot Springs to Little Rock

Highway 5 and Highway 7 split near Hot Springs, AR

In the future, Highway 5 will begin at junction US 70 and US 70 Business Route east of Hot Springs. The new extended roadway will be a

Two-lane expressway A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ris ...

. Currently, Highway 5 begins north of

at Highway 7 and runs northeast to Fountain Lake. In the city the highway has a junction with Highway 128 before entering Saline County and Hot Springs Village. Continuing east, Highway 5 serves as the southern terminus for Highway 9 at

Crows The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a series of remote weapon stations used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle. T ...

. Northwest of Benton the highway has a junction with Highway 298 before entering the city and passing several residential subdivisions. Near

Saline Memorial Hospital Saline may refer to: * Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body * Saline water, non-medicinal salt water * Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern Places * Saline, Calvados, a commune ...

, Highway 5 has a junction with

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in North Little Rock, A ...

/ US Highway 67/ US Highway 70 (I-30/US 67/US 70) and Highway 35. Highway 5 continues onto the freeway, beginning an eastbound concurrency toward

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. Highway 35 runs south toward downtown Benton and eventually Sheridan and

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. I-30/US 67/US 70/AR 5 run northeast past the Congo Rd exit before Highway 5 exits onto the

frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...

and onto Military Rd, ending the concurrency. The highway passes the Hester-Lenz House, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP), prior to the Bryant city limits. Upon entering Bryant, Highway 5 runs parallel to I-30/US 67/US 70 approximately north of the limited-access highway. An intersection with Highway 183 (Reynolds Rd) near the historic Andrew Hunter House gives access to downtown Bryant as well as the freeway. Continuing east, Highway 5 intersects Highway 835 (Woody Dr) which leads to the Alexander branch of the

Arkansas Department of Human Services The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) is a state agency of Arkansas, headquartered in Donaghey Plaza South of the Donaghey Complex, a five-story building on the southwest corner of Main Street and 7th Street, in Little Rock, Arkansas, Lit ...

's Youth Service Center, after which it enters Pulaski County. Highway 5 meets Otter Creek Rd and Highway 338 (Baseline Rd), both

collector road A collector road or distributor road is a low-to-moderate-capacity road which serves to move traffic from local streets to arterial roads. Unlike arterials, collector roads are designed to provide access to residential properties. Rarely, juris ...

s for I-30/US 67/US 70 in southwest Little Rock. Entering a suburban area, Highway 5 crosses I-430, passes the historic

Dr. Morgan Smith House The Dr. Morgan Smith House is a historic house at 5110 Stagecoach Road in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a complex roof line and weatherboard siding. It is a sophisticated example of Craftsman styling, with ...

, and meets Highway 300 (Colonel Glenn Rd) before terminating at US 70 (University Ave) near the

University of Arkansas at Little Rock The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock) is a public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year ...

campus.

Main Street Bridge

The Main Street Bridge in Little Rock carries a hidden AR 5 designation. The route is in span and multi-lane divided.

Cabot to Heber Springs

AR 5 begins at

US 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues so ...

/ 167 (Future

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 essen ...

) south of Cabot and runs north to cross AR 89 and AR 319. The route continues north to meet

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

south of

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

and AR 310 near

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

. AR 5 and AR 310 form a concurrency that runs until AR 36 in

Rose Bud A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

. AR 5 continues north to

, where it begins to concur with AR 16/ AR 25. Highway 5, 9 and 14 in Mountain View, AR 003

AR 5 leaves AR 25 near Wolf Bayou, when AR 5 begins to run with AR 87, named Mountain View Road. The two routes meet AR 14 in front of the Stone County Medical Center in south Mountain View. AR 5/AR 14/AR 87 run briefly west to Sylamore Avenue, when they meet AR 9. AR 5/AR 9/AR 14 run north through town to

Allison Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer Companies * Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine ...

, when AR 5 continues northward alone. Passing through the

Ozark National Forest The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, AR 5 emerges near Calico Rock. The route takes a turn northwest, concurring with AR 177 near Norfork. Entering Mountain Home, AR 5 crosses

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

southeast of town. AR 5 becomes 9th Street, meeting

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...

/ US 62 BUS/ AR 101 in downtown Mountain Home. The route continues northwest to Midway, after which it heads north to the

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

state line. AR 5 terminates at Route 5. Missouri Route 5 runs entirely across Missouri and eventually becomes

Iowa Highway 5 Iowa Highway 5 is a highway in southern Iowa. It is a north–south highway with a length of . It is the northernmost segment of a three-state "Highway 5" also involving Missouri Route 5 and Arkansas Highway 5. Portions of the highway are ...

History

Highway 5 was created in 1926 as one of the original numbered state highways in Arkansas. At time of creation, AR 5 did not extend south of Little Rock. The segment between Little Rock and Benton is the former alignment of US 67/US 70 in that area and was re-designated as Highway 5 upon completion of the freeway segment of US 67/US 70 (now I-30) in 1955.

Future

In the future, Highway 5 will be extended and follow the Hot Springs Bypass extension. Highway 5 will begin at junction US 70 and US 70 Business Route east of Hot Springs. It was going to open in fall 2022. The supply chain issue is delaying the project. Issues with a retaining wall is another factor delaying the completion date to May 2023. The new roadway will be a

two-lane expressway A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ris ...

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Arkansas Highway 5 005 Transportation in Garland County, Arkansas Transportation in Saline County, Arkansas Transportation in Pulaski County, Arkansas Transportation in Lonoke County, Arkansas Transportation in White County, Arkansas Transportation in Cleburne County, Arkansas Transportation in Stone County, Arkansas Transportation in Izard County, Arkansas Transportation in Baxter County, Arkansas U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 70